Watched the Saddleback Civil Forum tonight, with Rick Warren asking questions of Obama and McCain. I think we've got two very good candidates for president. I'm happy with both. Some random reactions to the event:
- The commentators on three networks all thought McCain did better. I just didn't see it that way.
- I don't like thinking of one person "winning" this event. They both did well, but in different ways.
- McCain was very black and white. I preferred Obama's thoughtful gray. We've had eight horrible years of black and white.
- I preferred Obama's style of focusing on Rick Warren, speaking and responding to him. I was a bit off-put by the way McCain focused on the crowd. Seemed too much like campaigning.
- McCain did a lot better than I expected.
- Obama came across--to me--as very thoughtful, nuanced, big-picturish, and authentic. That appealed to me.
- The talking-head commentators seemed to be passing judgment on the basis of totally different criteria than I was using.
- Excellent questions, Rick. And you kept control of two guys who like to talk.
- I thought McCain answered some questions better (and certainly had more compelling personal stories), but in general, I was drawn more to Obama's answers.
- I pretty much agreed with everything both guys said. Don't know what that means.
Career-wise, I've been hanging around and writing about and cheering on churches and pastors for the past 25 years as my denomination's Communications Director.
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